Academician Zhang Jinzhe

2026-03-02 15:00:26 Browse times：

Zhang Jinzhe (September 25, 1920 – December 24, 2022) was a pioneering pediatric surgeon and one of the most influential figures in the development of pediatric surgery in China.

Born in Ninghe County, Tianjin, he graduated from Shanghai Medical College in 1946. In 1950, he established the first pediatric surgery department in China at Peking University Hospital and became widely recognized as a founding figure of the discipline in the country.

In June 1955, he joined the newly established Beijing Children’s Hospital, where he served successively as Head of the Department of Surgery, Vice President of the hospital, and Professor of Pediatric Surgery at Capital Medical College. He built the Pediatric Surgery Center from the ground up, developing it into the largest pediatric surgery center in China.

Over a career spanning more than 50 years, Professor Zhang made outstanding contributions to clinical practice, research, innovation, education, academic society development, journal publication, and both domestic and international exchange in pediatric surgery.

He operated on more than 10,000 patients, made over 50 medical inventions, published more than 150 academic papers, and compiled or co-compiled over 30 professional books. He received more than 10 provincial- and ministerial-level awards for scientific and technological progress. He trained hundreds of pediatric surgeons and supervised nearly 20 master’s, doctoral, and postdoctoral trainees.

In recognition of his achievements, he was elected Academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering in 1997. He was awarded the Denis Browne Gold Medal by the British Association of Paediatric Surgeons (BAPS) in 2000, one of the highest international honors in pediatric surgery, and received the Gandhi Gold Medal for Pediatric Surgery from India in 2002.

Contributions to Pediatric Surgical Innovation

Professor Zhang actively brought together Chinese peers to introduce advanced surgical technologies from abroad and adapt them to China’s clinical realities, promoting nationwide implementation to improve surgical standards across the country.

In the early years of pediatric surgery in China, medical resources were limited and intubation tubes required for general anesthesia were in short supply. In response, he developed a combined basal and local anesthesia method, enabling pediatric surgeries to be performed safely across the country under constrained conditions. Epidural anesthesia later became widely adopted internationally.

During the 1950s and 1960s, pediatric surgery in China focused largely on acute and life-threatening conditions. Professor Zhang developed numerous simplified treatment methods and conducted in-depth theoretical research on infant infections and acute abdominal diseases. Under his leadership, the mortality rate of neonatal subcutaneous gangrene was reduced from nearly 100% to approximately 10% within one year, and the disease was eventually brought under effective control.

At Beijing Children’s Hospital, he achieved remarkable clinical records, including 15,000 cases of pediatric appendicitis treated over 30 years without a single death, and 100 consecutive cases of acute strangulated intestinal obstruction—including patients with necrosis and shock—also without mortality.

His spasm theory for intussusception and other practical clinical innovations remain influential today.

Beginning in the 1980s, Professor Zhang further simplified and refined surgical procedures for abdominal malformations. Medical instruments and techniques bearing his name—including “Zhang’s film” for imperforate anus, “Zhang’s forceps” for megacolon, and “Zhang’s valve” for common bile duct surgery—along with the one-stage radical operation for anorectal malformations developed using these tools, gained international attention.

He also developed pediatric surgical techniques incorporating principles of traditional Chinese medicine for the treatment of anal fistula and bone fractures, presenting distinctive Chinese contributions to global pediatric surgery.